Dancing on the Edge
by almbookbuyer
Summary: Three months after TFH, Adrian and the gang have saved Sydney from re-education, but can they save her sanity? Or, better yet, Adrian's? (Not a Silver Shadows fic. Just post TFH)
1. Chapter 1

**almbookbuyer: Hi. This is a fanfic I am writing with randomgirl1385.**

**disclaimer: randomgirl1385 and I do not own the Bloodlines world or characters. Nor the quotes used below (from TFH)**

_Adrian's POV_

My feet fell asleep about a state and a half ago, but I wasn't about to follow their lead. I was much more eager to spend that time with the girl I'd been looking for for three months. Even if she wasn't nearly as elated about our time together as me.

She sat in the seat next to me. The soft blue dress she wore sagged. She was wearing Jill's clothes, though they were too big for her. Her knees were to her chest, and one hand rested on the door handle. It didn't look like she was going to try to open it, though. She just sat there, watching us, and periodically sending a sidelong glance out the window.

Everyone had been quiet the entire ride. The smell of stale french fries drifted from the front where we were storing the wrappers from our fast food stop a few miles back. Even Rose, Neil and Christian, who sat behind us, did not speak. Rose's phone gave off a lot of beeps and cheers, telling me she was probably playing some game I didn't know or care about. Each time I heard a booing crowd, she kicked my seat. Christian kept leaning over her to flick my ear every few minutes. Jill and Eddie were whispering in front of us. It sounded like they were throwing out ideas on how to get to court faster. That was unsurprising, considering Jill could probably sense I was very close to turning around and lashing out at one of the people in the back. The only one of those three who wasn't being annoying was Neil, who was writing in a notebook.

I think the fact that I jumped at Rose's dubstep ring tone proved that it was too quiet in the car, but I wasn't going to be the first one to speak. Rose, after kicking my seat another time, answered.

"Hello? Hey Lissa!" Her voice sounded too loud. "Yeah. We got her out. It wasn't too hard." Sydney was watching her closely. "We don't really know." Another pause. "Yeah, we'll be back soon." Honestly, Rose was probably the loudest person alive. "Sure. You can talk to Adrian."

And then the phone was thrust into my hand. I struggled to keep a grip on it.

"It's Lissa," Rose said.

"I know who it is." I pressed the phone to my cheek. "Hey, Cousin."

"Hey, Adrian."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but I refused to look back. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah. I was just calling to check in."

"Well, like Rose said, we're out."

"And you don't really know if Sydney's okay?"

I hesitated before giving my answer. "No. When we came in, she didn't really know us. Or, maybe she did. She hasn't spoken much. But she certainly didn't want us there."

"Can you tell me... what they did?"

"No." I said it with too much force. I couldn't bare to think of Sydney alone, stripped of everything, engulfed in darkness, wet, dirty, shaking...

"Adrian." Her voice was soft. "You don't have to answer now. I understand. But, can I at least know how you're doing?"

How was I doing? I didn't know. I was happy that I had Sydney again, but in spite of that, I couldn't really remember the last time I was happy, so I had nothing to compare it to.

No. That wasn't right. I did remember. It was the last time Sydney and I had spoken and had seen each other. I was dropping her off at Amberwood.

"_You know I love you right?" I'd said._

_"Not as much as I love you."_

_"Oh man. This is my dream come true: having an 'I love you more' debate. Here, I'll start. I love you more. Your turn."_

Her laugh echoed in my mind. "_I've taken debate classes. You'd lose to my logic. See you tonight."_

I wouldn't see her then. I wouldn't see her until that happy light that always seemed to glow from her, even when I was cut off from spirit, faded.

"Adrian?"

"Sorry. I'm, well, how you'd think I'd be."

"She'll be okay. I'll help in any way I can, you know."

I lean back in my seat, wishing it was taller so I could lean my head back like I wanted to. It felt heavy. "I know."

"Speaking of, I set up another stop a little ways ahead from where you should be now. There's a car waiting for you. Where _are_ you now?"

"Uh, I don't know. I haven't exactly been paying attention to road signs with Lord Pokes a lot and Guardian Kick Your Seat behind me."

She laughed. "Could I talk to Eddie then?"

"Sure," I said and brushed the phone against Eddie's shoulder. He took it and pressed it to his ear. He had, somehow, stayed stiff and vigilant the entire ride, though it had to have been at least three hours already.

Jill was watching me with eyes that spoke only innocence, though she'd seen so much. "What did Lissa say?"

"She wants us to switch cars again." We were leaving a trail of minivans all the way from the alchemist's main base to court. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to catch on that we were the only minivan going the exact speed limit on every road. No more. No less. That was Eddie.

"Nothing else?"

"She asked if everyone was okay."

Eddie got the address for the place and dismissed Lissa with a quick, "Thanks. See you in two hours."

They hung up and we passed the phone back to Rose. Jill turned quickly, and made a point to look straight out the window, her hands folded in her lap and her back stiff.

"Do you know how to get to the new stop?" Neil asked, looking up from his notebook.

"I think so." Eddie got off on the next exit. Sydney gripped her knees harder at the sudden and sharp turn, her alert eyes turning to fear for a short second before she seemed to grasp what was happening and went back to watching us, her knuckles that much more white.

Eddie put his hand on Jill's knee and she looked over at him. I saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" he whispered. I didn't know how he managed to look so stiff and guardian like, and keep his eyes soft. "What's wrong?"

"I thought she would want to speak to me is all. I didn't get a chance to see her again before we left. We didn't really even say bye."

Christian flicked me again and I dug my fingernails into the armrest, trying to listen.

"You know she cares. She just isn't used to this."

"It's been a year. I am."

"Lissa just needs time."

Jill nodded, but her hands stayed folded in her lap. She and Lissa had been doing better: talking once in a while, getting closer, even going as far as to call each other sisters instead of friends. But, where Jill was willing to throw herself into a relationship like this, Lissa seemed unsure.

Rose kicked my seat again. I tried to shift forward again, but the seat belt held me back.

"Does anyone want to play the license plate game?" Christian exclaimed, louder then Rose had been speaking into the phone. Sydney flinched and shifted so her back was to the door. It wasn't in any way how you were suppose to sit in this car, but I knew she was probably scared out of her mind. I didn't stop her.

Her bare feet were close enough to me that if I moved the wrong way, I'd touch them. I wanted to. I wanted to reach out and hold her and kiss her. But I wasn't sure if she'd ever talk to me again. Not like she used to.

The only things she'd said to us were in panicked screams, "_No! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"_

She had been crying. I'd only ever seen her cry once before.

Eddie turned suddenly into an empty parking lot and pulled into a parking spot. For a second, everything was quiet. Even Rose's game had shut up. Eddie leaned on the steering wheel a moment.

"Does anyone have a GPS app on their phone?"

"I knew you didn't know," Christian teased.

"Shut up, Ozera," I warned.

"I have one." Rose handed the phone to me, and I handed it to Eddie. Jill grabbed it.

"I'll set it. I can be the navigator."

"Alright." He told her the address and she typed it in.

"Calculating," said a machine like voice. Sydney jumped, sliding almost off her seat and catching herself by bracing both hands on the window behind her. Eddie pulled up to the edge of the lot. "Turn right."

I was watching Sydney now. Her panic was radiating off her and was palpable in the air. She covered her ears and closed her eyes.

"Turn left in nine point three miles."

Sydney pulled in a shaky breath, letting it out in almost a whimper.

I couldn't watch this. "Turn it off."

"Why?" Eddie asked.

"Turn it off! It's scaring her." My voice was loud and harsh.

Jill turned back. Sydney had curled into a ball again, her hands pressed over her ears, her eyes squeezed shut.

"I don't want her to be scared any more than you do," Eddie said, "But we need to get her to court."

"Turn left in eight miles."

She was trembling. I could see every bit of her shaking. My heart beat quickened. I lurched forward, choking myself with my seat belt, and grabbed the phone out of Jill's hands.

"Give it back!"

"It's scaring her!"

I tried to turn it off, but Jill grabbed it back. I caught hold of her wrist and wrapped my fingers around it.

"We need it Adrian."

"Guys, stop," Eddie said, "You're scaring her more."

But she was terrified of that voice.

"Turn left in five miles."

She gasped again and I yanked the phone away too hard. Jill let out a strained noise and Eddie turned to see what was happening.

I couldn't tell exactly what happened next. But suddenly, all that was surrounding us was noise and motion and fire. Too much fire.

The air bags went off. I watched Sydney grab for the window pain as she was tossed forward, luckily held back from going too far be the seat belt.

A glowing light dropped to the floor. I saw the message pop up, "Turn left." But there was too many screams to hear the voice.

It was deadly quiet. All I could hear was the fire crackling.

Then, the light flashed again. "Recalculating."

**a/n Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to review with any critique or anything else you'd like to say :)**

**We will hopefully be posting the next chapter soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the follows, favs, and reviews!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own any of the Bloodlines characters or the Bloodlines world.**

Adrian's POV:

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

I was pinned. The seat Eddie had been sitting in had been pushed backwards into my chest and face, cutting off my ability to breathe. Only small gasps were able to get in. And even that was tainted by the smoke. It was everywhere. I couldn't see anything. It stung my eyes.

"Is everyone okay?" I heard Rose ask behind me. I couldn't answer.

"I'm fine," Christian said, sounding shaken.

"Me too," Neil said.

Of course they were fine. They were farthest from the impact, but the rest of us: Eddie-

Jill.

_Sydney_.

I wanted to move and help them, to get enough air in my lungs to call for them.

"Adrian? Sydney?" Rose asked, sounding scared. I'd never heard her scared before. "Eddie? Jill?"

I heard Eddie grunt in front of me. But that was enough to tell me he was alive. Neither girl answered.

I was struggling to get out from between the seats, but I couldn't. My lungs burned.

And someone was knocking on the window. Something touched my arm and I pulled away. The window rolled down. Rose must have reached up and pushed the button.

"Is everyone okay?" asked a man. He was tall. He was blocking the sun. But I couldn't see any more than that. "I already called nine, one, one. They're on their way. I can't see anything in there. Is everyone okay?"

I tried to choke out a response, but I couldn't. It seemed like the smoke was getting thicker, blotting out any light that still got through to me, making my eyes feel like fire...

...

White. Everything was white.

No. My eyes adjusted. It wasn't white. It was a sickly yellow.

Sunshine yellow was bright. It was happy.

Gold was beautiful. Gold was happy.

This pale yellow? It made me feel dizzier than I already felt.

"Adrian? Are you awake?" Rose sat beside the hard bed I layed on. When I looked over, she sighed. "God. We thought you were _dead_. You were barely breathing. They had to use a crowbar to get you out of there."

"Jill? Eddie? Sydney?" My voice was weaker than normal. I tried to lift it, to give it it's usual sarcastic lilt. "Did they need a crowbar?"

Rose frowned. "They weren't transferred to a room. They're in the ICU."

Intensive care Unit. Intensive care meant they might not be okay. They could still die.

Sydney could die.

After all this.

"How hurt?"

She let out a nervous laugh. "Don't you want to know how you are before hearing about them?" But I knew she knew I wouldn't settle for that. "I don't really know yet. Jill and Sydney aren't awake. Eddie's conscious, but pretty badly hurt. They won't tell me exactly what it is yet. Jill's the worst off I heard. The truck was turning and hit us on that corner. It wasn't a head on, but it was close."

Sydney and Jill weren't conscious? "How long has it been?"

"Only a few hours."

"Are _you_ okay? Neil? Christian?"

"Bruised a little. Fine though."

"Me?"

"I was waiting for you to ask." She smiled, looking a little nervous. "Bruised two ribs. They thought you'd be out longer. Especially with the pain meds they've got you on." I was wondering why nothing hurt.

A nurse entered the room.

"Excuse me," she said, looking at Rose. She was fiddling with the hem of her dress. Sydney did that sometimes. "I'm not sure how to say this, but... it looks like one of your friends has... fangs?"

Rose looked pointedly at me, and I turned toward the nurse. I pulled at the magic. Spirit seemed far away. Probably because of the pain medication the hospital had used on me. Her eyes widened. "Show us where they are."

She nodded and led us out of the room, down a few white washed hallways, and into the ICU. By the time we were there, I was heaving each breath, which was one of the most painful things I could probably do with bruised ribs. The first person I saw was Eddie. He was probably attempting to shout, but all I heard was indecipherable muttering. He was clearly struggling to get out of the bed, but it looked painful. Though there was a thin blanket thrown over his bottom half, I could see his legs were bent at odd angles.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he attempted to push himself onto his elbows again and failed.

I stepped toward him. Eddie was staring up at me. He murmured something, but I didn't hear what it was.

I winced when I bent over, my side burning. My fingertips rested against his arm and I felt spirit rush through them like I'd opened a dam. I tried to keep enough to use it again, but I wasn't sure how much I could do. It still seemed to be clinging to a wall. To use even a bit, I was scraping it off, handful by handful.

I opened my eyes and Eddie was sitting up slowly. His bare chest and face were still shining with perspiration. Another nurse, one I hadn't seen before, rushed over. "No, no dear. Lay back."

When she saw me I pulled at the spirit again, knowing I was going to feel this all come back for me later. "You never saw any of this."

She nodded and backed up, moving on to her next patient.

I was already tired, but I turned back to Rose and the nurse, who seemed to be aware of what was happening again. I wondered how much magic I was going to have to use as I pulled at it again. She was strong willed. "Where are the others?"

"Get downstairs," Rose told Eddie before following us.

She led me to another bed. At first, I didn't recognise her. Her face and hair were caked in blood, dried black. But when her eyes blinked open, bloodshot and tired, the amber gave her away.

"Sydney..." I knelt beside the bed so we were at eye level. Her eyes were unfocused, but open. I wondered if she even saw me. "Sydney, can you- can you hear me?"

She lets a soft, "Mmm..." sound out, almost inaudibly.

"Just heal her," Rose said, "We need to get out of here."

She roused at the words. Her eyes widened and she tried to move back, but she was so week.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked the nurse, throwing more spirit in her direction than I'd ever needed for compulsion.

"She has a concussion. She's lost a lot of blood. There was a lot of broken glass. Twenty three stitches. Thirteen of those on the back of her head." The nurse said this like she was rattling off the states and capitals or multiplication facts, not the state of a living person.

"Just heal her," Rose snapped.

"She doesn't want me to."

"She needs you to, Adrian!"

I glanced at her. For the first time, I noticed the frantic, frightened look in her eyes. She knew it was only a matter of time before another nurse knew about Jill. And we wouldn't last long after that.

"I can't scare her like that." Sydney was looking up at me. I could see my reflection in her wet eyes. She was scared to tears of us now. I couldn't help but whisper to her, "I would never hurt you. I wish you would remember that."

She mouthed two words to me. No sound came out. "I do."

"Then why can't you let me heal you?"

She just kept staring at me, looking as frightened as Kieth had looked when we'd first met him.

"If you're not going to heal her, at least do Jill. Well, don't _do_ Jill. Heal her." Rose was smiling a little, her eyebrows knit with worry. The dark humor, I knew, was meant to lighten the mood. But it wasn't working.

I nodded and stood up. My legs felt wobbly. I noticed I was shaking.

"Lead us to Jill," I told the nurse.

She nodded again and brought us through a white curtain. Jill's long legs reached the end of the bed, covered by a blanket. One arm was elevated in a sling. Her shirt was lifted just enough to show what looked like a bandage across her side.

Her face was slack, and a red gash ran from the corner of one eye to her ear. Some reminded me of cross hatching on her other cheek.

A man stood over her. He was wrapping her other hand in long, wet strips of plaster cloth.

He looked up. "What are you doing in here?"

"Go on," I said, pressing enough spirit into my words to compel him.

He finished wrapping her hand and read from a clipboard.

"Diagnosis," I said, pushing again.

I could feel my body trembling. I wondered how long I could keep this up.

"Legs were pinned. Meniscus tear on the left knee. Fractured Fibula on the right. Her right arm was twisted. There is a fracture in her left hand." The hand I'd pulled the phone from. That's why she'd cried out. I'd hurt her. "Three fractured ribs."

I moved toward her slowly. I felt unsteady.

My fingers brushed her shoulder, the only place I saw no wound. And I let the spirit flow from me without restraint.

I didn't close my eyes this time. I watched as she opened her's. Slowly, her eyes focused on me.

"Adrian..." Her voice was so small. I remembered another time, letting this much spirit enter her. She was dying. "Adrian, stop." She reached out a pale shaking hand to cover my own. "Too much spirit..."

I pulled my hand away, breaking the connection, and stood abruptly. Too abruptly.

The room spun and I lurched forward, catching myself on the edge of the bed.

"Adrian?" Rose tried to grab for me. My knees rested on the ground again. I attempted to stand a second time, slower, but my knees buckled. Rose helped me stand. The room swayed, and I held onto the chair behind me.

"I-I'm okay now."

She stepped slowly away, letting a hand linger on my lower back. I clung to the chair. It was the only thing that kept me from collapsing again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"N-not exactly." I sat in the chair. Unable to do much more.

Jill was sitting up now, touching a few fingers to her forehead. "How much spirit did you use today? Wow, _I_ feel sick from it."

I nodded, sending my world spinning again. I wondered how I was still even on the chair.

"We have to get out of here," Rose said again, "I can only help one person."

I waved her on. "Sydney. Help Sydney. I just need a second."

"We don't _have_ a second!"

But we needed one. I leaned my elbows on my knees and held my head. It still felt like everything was reeling. It felt like I needed to sleep for a long time. Maybe forever.

"Adrian," Jill said, "Adrian, stay focused."

"I am," I muttered.

And then Jill's arms were around me, pulling me out of the chair. I knew she was probably tired herself, but -together- we managed to stumble our way back to Sydney, who was pretty much going insane. Rose was trying to cajole her into listening, but she wasn't buying it. She was on the opposite side of the bed. If she shifted any further away, she'd fall.

"Sydney, we need to go. Please."

She was too small: even thinner now than when we met. Her eyes were wide with fear. Any bare skin on her looked chalk white.

"Fine, if you won't go willingly-" Rose scooped Sydney up. I could see Sydney trying to pull away, but she was too weak.

"Don't..." I couldn't finish the thought. I stumbled again and fell to my knees, pulling Jill down with me. She pulled me up again.

"Come on. We've just got to get downstairs."

"Eddie, Neil, and Christian are in the waiting room," Rose finishes for her.

We started for a stairway before I remembered something. "Jill, the nurse! I didn't compel her to forget about us!"

"It's okay."

We went through the door and were about to take the first step.

"No it isn't! She saw your fangs!"

She stopped. "Rose!"

Rose turned, looking annoyed. "What?"

"The nurse knows about me. And Adrian didn't compel her."

Rose, frustrated, set Sydney down as gently as possible on the top stair. She curls up there. Rose ran back inside.

We waited a moment. Then, Rose ran back out, picked up Sydney again, and started running. "Hurry!"

"What did you do?" Jill asked, following as closely behind as possible with me in tow. I almost sent us down the stairs a few times.

"Knocked her out. The guy too."

"Couldn't think of a less violent way to do it?"

"I could have compelled them," I said.

"I like you alive, Ivashkov." We were almost to the bottom of the stairs. Christian stood at the bottom, his pale skin practically glowing in the dim light, contrasted by a deep purple bruise on one cheek. "Or, you come in handy at the very least."

My legs gave out again, and -with a single intake of breath- I sent us down the stairs. Rose had already taken the last step and thankfully moved out of the way. But Christian wasn't as lucky.

He made a pained noise and held his side. "Bruises, man. You landed right on a bruise."

"Just help," Jill begged, "I'm not good at this."

He pulled me up, and I was too weak to protest. Jill took my other side and we made it out into the waiting room.

The secretary gave us a startled look. "What's going on?"

"Christian, can you compel her?" Rose asked.

"I can try, but I'm still just as bad as I was before." He turned to the woman, and stared intently at her. "We were never here."

"If you think I'm buying that, you've got another thing coming-" She reached for the phone.

I pulled at that little bit of magic that was still clinging on and let her have it. "We were never here. You will tell no one we were here."

She had frozen. Her hand hovered over the phone. She nodded, and we kept moving.

Neil and Eddie were sitting on a hard couch. Neil was writing on what looked like a napkin with a hospital pen.

When they saw us, they stood. Eddie immediately pulled me from Jill and Christian and hissed into my ear, "Overdid it much?"

"Had to..." The only thing keeping my upright was his arms. The only thing keeping my eyes open was the need to get Sydney somewhere safe. It wasn't safe here.

"The car!" Rose looked ready to throw something. I hoped it wasn't Sydney. Sydney, who had stopped struggling. I almost would have rather she thrash then be so still. "We don't have a car!"

"I called Lissa," Eddie said, "There's a car rental place half a block from here that she got us a car from. It'll be waiting for us."

"And who will be waiting with it?"

He shrugged. "She told me the model and licence plate number though, so we'd know."

"Do you really think we can make it half a block?" Jill looked unsure.

"We will."

We dragged our ragged group through the glass hospital doors into the dark, cold night air. When had it gotten dark? How long had it been?

How much longer until the alchemists find her?


	3. Chapter 3

**disclaimer: We do not own the Bloodlines world or characters.**

Sydney's POV:

I decided hated florescent lights. They're better than darkness, though. Which was where we were headed.

Rose was carrying me. Wisps of her hair were brushing one of my arms. It tickled, but I wasn't laughing. I wasn't doing anything. I should have been pulling away, but I didn't have the ability to.

The room spun. Maybe Rose was spinning with me, but I doubted that. If she was carrying me, there was a destination. Otherwise, she would have left me on the bed. I wished she had.

I could hear people talking, but I was so tired and felt so sick. I honestly didn't care what they were saying.

Rose put me down once. It was on a top stair. I considered lurching forward, rolling down them and escaping, but I wouldn't get anywhere after that, and Rose would find me. So I waited until she lifted me again.

My head throbbed. No, my body throbbed. No, maybe it was Rose's footsteps. Maybe it was a combination. I didn't know. When we passed the next florescent, I closed my eyes. They were making my headache worse, and I was too tired to keep them open anyway.

"Don't you _dare _go to sleep, Sydney," Rose hissed to me. I flinched at her voice. When she wasn't talking, I could pretend that I was in a car, or a plane, or something that wasn't a dhampir's arms, but I knew her voice. I knew she was a dhampir. "Sydney, open your eyes."

I did as I was told. The florescent light we were passing under made my eyes throb. Or maybe we'd just taken another step.

I was tired of lights and ceiling tiles. I looked forward. In front of us was a set of glass double doors. Outside of them was the night. Someone stepped in front of us. In a moment, I recognized the person as being Eddie. He was a dhampir. There wasn't a human with me. It was just me and the moroi and the dhampirs.

I closed my eyes again, wishing it was just a dream. I knew I had met these moroi and dhampirs before. I used to trust them. I remembered that. But they were always unpredictable. Especially the red haired one. What was her name? Angeline.

"Sydney, open your eyes!" Rose hissed again, "You can't go to sleep right now!"

It was too hard to keep my eyes open. My eyelids felt so heavy.

I had been seeing orange on the inside of my eyes. Now I saw black. It was a relief. Now I could sleep.

"_Sydney_!" Her voice was harsh. Too harsh. I shuddered.

Suddenly I was being shaken, hard. I gasped at the pain and my eyes flew open on instinct, even though I couldn't see much in this darkness.

"Don't close your eyes," she said.

I wanted to ask her why, but I couldn't.

I could feel that we were running. Ahead of us, I saw some lights. Behind us were probably lights too. Where we were, there were street lamps around. Right now, it was black.

"C'mon Ivashkov," I heard a teasing voice say, "Only a little further."

"Shut up Ozera."

Ivashkov. Adrian. He was still keeping up. That made me relieved, but I'm not sure why. He was a moroi. He'd taken advantage of me.

Hadn't he?

Rose's breaths were coming harder now. I could feel them, because my head was against her chest. We lurched forward once, and Rose yelled back, too loudly, "Curb!"

Eddie cursed behind us. I assumed he'd found the same small obstacle.

The lights were closer now. They were a sign I couldn't read from here. I focused on them. Because I couldn't focus on the darkness.

Too much happened in the darkness.

We were so close. I could read the sign now. It was a car rental place. And I could see Rose now, bathed in the red light. It made everything look that much more menacing.

A series of loud noises, the loudest noises I've ever heard, pierced the night.

And then the arms beneath me were gone. Someone cried out, I couldn't tell who. And something hard hit my back, my head, my heels, my arms.

The sign blurred and swayed as pain exploded through the back of my head. I pressed my fingernails into the blacktop. It had a thick coating of dirt.

"Sydney!" called a familiar voice. Adrian

"Get the Sage girl," called an unfamiliar one.

Someone picked me up. They struggled. I wanted it so badly to be a human, but the only people with me were the dhampirs and the moroi. Rose had dropped me. These weren't her arms.

"Put her down!" The voice didn't belong to anyone I'd expect to defend me. A moroi. And one I didn't know too well.

But there was light surrounding me. Orange light. Everywhere. It was burning my arms, my legs, all of me. I looked up at the swimming face that held me.

And I screamed.

Rose's POV:

Almost immediately after we left the hospital, I knew we were being followed. I could tell Eddie knew too. And Neil. We all looked to each other, and slightly sped up. Adrian protested, but I had a feeling he would have protested either way. Christian didn't notice the difference, idiot's so cocky he wouldn't have noticed a gunshot.. I'm pretty sure Jill figured out something was up.

We were almost there. There was no need to stop and face whoever it was. The only thing I had to focus on was Sydney. I knew, from her telling me a while ago, that you can't sleep with a concussion, which was hard. She kept closing her eyes.

"_Sydney_," I whispered to her again. She shuddered but didn't open her eyes, no matter how many times I said it. She wasn't waking up.

I shook her, just enough to wake her up. She gasped and opened her eyes.

"Don't close your eyes."

There was more than one person behind us. And they were catching up. I gave Eddie a look beside me.

"C'mon Ivashkov," Christian said in front of us.

"Shut up Ozera."

I was listening too hard and not paying enough attention to what was in front of us. I tripped, and almost fell, at the edge of a curb. "Curb!" I exclaimed for Eddie's sake. He swore less than a moment later.

The footsteps were louder. Either they recognized us, or they just decided to catch up now. I had a feeling it was the first. Of course they had to call each other by their _royal names_. Because that doesn't make us stick out.

We were close enough to the light now that everything was an eerie red. They could see us, and they weren't missing their chance.

A gunshot went off and pain exploded in my right leg. I cried out and almost dropped Sydney. I only got another staggered step forward before another shot to my arm stopped whatever resolve was keeping me going.

She slipped out of my arms and I fell.

There were spots of light in my vision and I knew I could pass out from the pain, but I also knew I shouldn't let myself. I'm no help unconscious.

I turned so I was on my stomach and pulled myself to my knees. It hurt to move my left leg, but I wasn't about to give up now. I looked around, trying to figure out the situation.

I was not the only one who got shot. Eddie had fallen. I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from.

There were two men, one I vaguely recognized as Keith, and the other one I didn't recognize at all. I knew they were Alchemists, and I knew they were against us. Their lily's glistened in the light.

"Sydney!" Adrian called out. When Eddie fell, Adrian fell. He was kneeling in a scarlet puddle, reaching out for her. I looked around. Where was she?

She lay on the ground a few feet away from me. I tried to crawl to her, but my right arm was useless and I could only put pressure on one leg. I remembered the time at St. Vlads when the school thought yoga would help me fix my issues. One of the positions was like this.

"Get the Sage girl," the brunette said to Kieth.

He nodded, and beat me to her, lifting her off of the ground and into his arms.

My hand slipped and scraped against the concrete. I fell. I tried to lift myself up again. I thought that maybe I had run out of adrenaline, or maybe I had lost too much blood, because I couldn't do it. I could only watch as Sydney would be hauled away again. Only hours after escaping.

"Put her down!"

Both Sydney and Kieth were engulfed in flames. She was screaming, and he was cursing. He let go of her and she crashed to the ground again. I pulled myself forward on my stomach until I was near enough to her face. I brought mine into her line of vision. She was burned, but not too badly. It was only first degree, though I didn't know how considering how much fire there was.

"Sydney?" I said. I was surprised at how weak I sounded. I tried to push more confidence into my words, "Sydney, we're going to get you out."

She still looked terrified.

I couldn't keep my head up. I let it rest on my uninjured arm. We were so close. So close to getting the car.

Sydney's POV:

Someone was lifting me again. It was another man, but I could tell that he wasn't the same person. He wasn't Keith. But I didn't know who he was. I was so dizzy, I wasn't sure how long I could keep the bile down if I opened my eyes, but I knew Rose had told me not to close my eyes.

I opened them and the world spun over me. I caught sight of the man's face in the red light. Neil. I wasn't _happy_ to see him per say, but it was the better of the to two choices. I did not want to go back to re-education.

"Sydney," he whispered to me, "We made it to the car."

We did? What happened? Where was Rose? Where was Adrian?

My body hurt where he held me, so I was relieved when he put me on a seat. I let my head loll to the side because letting it touch the back of the seat would be too painful.

Then someone was set on the seat beside me. Looking down at the boy leaning on my shoulder, I saw Adrian. He was struggling to stay awake. "Hey, Sage," he whispered. I felt my breaths come faster. There was a moroi on my shoulder. He was weak, but he was still a moroi.

The car shook. More people were getting in. The van had a bench seat in the middle, and I was, again, against the window. This time, it had been rolled down.

Someone was looking in. His silhouette was lined with red. I closed my eyes, willing the shadow to go away, because I couldn't run.

"Ah, Sydney Sage. It's been a while."

I opened my eyes again. I knew that voice. And I knew to be extremely terrified of it.

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	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer: we do not own the Bloodlines world or characters.**

Jill's POV

Sometimes, all it takes to make you feel better is a grease stained paper bag filled with Chinese food. Sometimes, it takes more than that.

"Well, it seems you've had an eventful night," Abe Mazure said, his dark eyebrows drawn with worry. He held the paper bag in one hand and was already rushing forward to take Rose from Neil with his other.

"I'm fine," she slurred.

Neil put his attention back on Sydney,, who he was carrying. Rose had been leaning against him and keeping herself steady with his arm, but Sydney couldn't do that. She looked awful. Her hair and face were covered in blood and she was shaking now. Probably from the cold.

It was freezing out here. Luckily, they hadn't put us in hospital gowns. I wasn't sure why. Maybe they didn't have to. But they'd cut my pants into shorts and my legs were numb. That didn't help me support Adrian.

I really wasn't good at this. Adrian felt a million times heavier than he should have, and I didn't have the energy for this. Especially not with his weakness coming through the bond.

I stumbled over an empty soda can and almost fell forward, but caught myself.

Christian was pulling Eddie along. Christian looked three shades paler than usual, and I was anxious that he was going to be the next one dragged.

The car was another minivan. An army green Honda with a bench seat in the middle as well as in the back. That meant unless we put Sydney in front, we were going to have to put her right next to someone. And I was pretty sure blood needed to be kept behind tinted windows.

Abe helped Rose sit against the side of the car. She rested her head against the open sliding door. Neil set Sydney in the window side of the bench seat and rushed over to me. When Adrian's weight had come off me, I let out a sigh.

"Thanks," I said softly and leaned against the car.

While he was helping Adrian into the seat beside Sydney's, he said, "Are you hurt?"

I'd been pushed and knocked over, but I didn't think it was anything serious. My elbows hurt. I'd probably scraped them. But that was it.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You?"

He shrugged. "Fine."

"Rose isn't," Abe said, sounding almost Angry. He was kneeling in front of Rose and touching the area around a deep cut in the fleshy part of her lower leg.

"I'm fine," she tried again.

"She got shot in the shoulder too," Christian said, lowering Eddie so he rested beside her.

"Back of my shoulder," she slurred. Her eyes looked unfocused. I knelt in front of the two of them.

"What about Eddie?" He just looked bloody. Blood everywhere. There wasn't a specific spot.

Abe leaned over Rose to get a look at him. "Looks like a bullet nicked his jaw."

"All that blood from a nick?" Christian was leaning against the front of the car, rubbing his wrist.

"Did you hurt your wrist?" I asked.

"Yeah. I think it'll be fine. Just sore."

He'd been knocked down like I had. But I was certain he'd been kicked in the side. I wasn't going to bring it up. I remembered him in the hospital, complaining about bruises and holding his side. It must hurt now. He was hiding it well.

Rose had closed her eyes. I shook her good leg a little. She blinked open her eyes enough to glare at me. I looked at Abe. "We can't really go back to the hospital. We kind of broke out."

He pressed his lips into a thin line and slid the bag over to me. "Here, take this." He stood and walked around to the other side of the car. I craned my neck to watch him lean in the open window and say something to Sydney.

"She isn't talking," Christian said, going around to where Abe was standing, looking in the window. "I don't know what you're asking her, but she hasn't spoken once since we got her out."

He stood up straight again. "Tragic."

He took a few steps away from the car. Christian leaned against it, covering my view of Abe. I looked back to Eddie and Rose. Eddie was unconscious. Or just not talking. Rose was looking at me.

"Where is he?" She probably meant Abe.

"He was walking away. I can't see him anymore."

"Don't go back. We can't risk it."

"I know."

I climbed into the back of the minivan, craning my neck over Sydney and Adrian to see Abe, a few yards away, on the phone. I couldn't hear what he was saying.

"I wonder who it is," Christian said, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice for once.

"Yeah."

Adrian was sleeping and it looked like Sydney was trying not to. Her eyes kept drifting closed and struggling open.

"Lissa maybe? She won't be happy we've got more problems," he guessed.

"She's not going to trust us to travel alone anymore."

He laughed. "She already doesn't. That's why we've got Eddie, Rose, and Neil."

Neil. Where was he? I turned around to look for him and he was sitting a few feet away. He would have been behind me when I had been kneeling. He was writing in his notebook again.

"Yeah," I replied again and climbed back out of the van. I went and sat beside Neil. He glanced up at me, then back down at the notebook.

"What are you writing?"

"A letter," he said.

"To who?"

"Olive."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"You've been working on it for a while."

He nodded again. "I don't really know how to say it without sounding... vulnerable."

I smiled a little. "That's what makes it authentic. Vulnerability."

"But I want to be _strong_. She is."

"Vulnerability does make you strong. Not everybody is strong enough to let it show."

He seemed to think about this before starting with his pencil again.

"How has that not broken yet?" I asked.

"The pencil?" I nodded. "Oh, it has. I have a sharpener in my pocket."

I laughed.

Christian's POV:

I was tired of trying to read Abe's lips. I was awful at it. Like, as bad as I am at compulsion. So I went back around the car and found the Chinese food Abe had been carting around at the beginning of our encounter. It had a smiling Chinese guy on the front. Which told me the restaurant probably wasn't actually run by anyone Chinese. The bag was heavy enough that I quickly transferred it to the wrist that didn't feel like it was being pulled out of it's socket before I dug out a piece of pork. The food was good, even though it was a little cold.

Jill and Neil were talking off to the side and I felt it would probably say a little too much about my social skills to sit with the mute kids, so I went and sat on Neil's other side.

"Egg roll?"

"What?"

"I don't like them." I put the greasy thing on top of the page of his notebook and he grabbed it immediately.

"Don't put it on my paper!"

I laughed. There was a small grease spot, but I didn't see what it mattered. The writing wasn't legible anyway.

"Can I have a fried shrimp?" Jill asked. I nodded and dug one out for her. She nibbled on it slowly, watching Neil eat his egg roll like he was tearing apart his enemy, not whatever gross smelling green stuff was in there.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" I asked.

"He's writing a letter," Jill supplied, "And now he's going to have to write it again."

"I have to anyway," he said, "This one's terrible too."

Jill shook her head and started to take the notebook, but Neil grabbed it back.

"Please?" she asked, "I can help you make it better."

He frowned, but let her take it. She read it slowly, her hair falling over one shoulder. I watched the four vegetables sit there and bleed. Most of them were bleeding at least. Adrian was just as out of it with half the blood.

"God, if I got this from-"

Abe came around the car then, cutting off Jill's longing statement, and we all looked to him expectantly.

"I'm coming up short for once," he said. If Rose could, she'd tease him for the statement. "The only hospital nearby is the one you came from."

"And that's out of the picture," I said.

"Rose knocked a nurse and a doctor unconscious," Jill said like she was tattling on a bully in kindergarten. I hated kids who tattled in kindergarten, but at least what she was saying was true.

_Strigoi kid bit me!_

_No I didn't!_

_Strigoi kid! Strigoi kid!_

_"_So what are we going to do?" Neil asked. He'd flipped the notebook closed on Jill's lap.

"Drive faster," Abe said. "Court's two hours away."

"Well look where driving faster got us last time," I rolled my eyes.

"You think we'll make it?" Jill asked, "Or, well, they'll make it?"

He walked over to Rose and lifted her easily. "No. I _hope_ they'll make it."

Abe slid Rose into her seat and slid the seat belt across her chest. It clicked loudly. He loaded Eddie up next, and then I climbed in. All there was in front of my seat was space. The bench seat didn't extend that far. I let my leg stretch forward until my foot brushed Adrian's ankle. Then I thought about it more, and decided to put my foot up on the arm rest next to him. Jill got in the passenger seat and Neil got in the driver's seat.

Two hours in the back with the dying ones. Fun.


	5. Chapter 5

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Sydney's POV:

Every street light we passed made me feel like murderous photons were attacking my head. My head ached that much.

One of the lights we were approaching revealed a gate and I knew we'd arrived, which was a relief. I wasn't sure how much longer I could listen to Christian whistling along to any song Jill or Neil turned on. He managed to whistle to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 and dubstep in the same ten minutes. Not to mention Beyonce, Luke Brian, and some band that the announcer called The Dreadknots: "The best punk polka band you'll ever hear!" Even if it was possible to know all those songs by heart, I wasn't convinced it was humanly possible to whistle those songs. Until he did it.

The car came to a slow stop and the radio went dead. A door in the front opened, sending cold air flying back to caress my cheeks, and the lights came on. I pulled in a breath and closed my eyes so tightly that I couldn't even see the deep red of my eyelids.

"I'm going to get help. Wait here," Neil said.

"No. I'll come with you." Jill said.

He left as she finished the sentence. There was another click. After a moment, I let my eyes open slowly, and almost shut them again. The click had been Jill turning on the front light. She settled her eyes on me and was giving me a worried look.

"Are you awake?" she whispered.

"I am," Christian groaned from the backseat, "Wish I'd slept. Longest ride _ever_."

He was too loud. Every word was like getting hit in my temples.

"Sydney?" Jill asked softly, concerned.

I bit my lip and looked at her, despite the bright light.

"Hey," she continued, "we're here. We're getting help." Then she turned to Christian. "Try to shake Eddie and Rose awake."

The sound of shuffling fabric, parkas, and sneakers seemed to echo in the dark. I wanted so badly to cover my ears, but my body felt too heavy. And I didn't want to wake the moroi on my shoulder. I couldn't decide whether I was being nice and letting him sleep or just attempting not to wake a sleeping vampire.

But he wasn't _just_ a vampire. He was Adrian.

But he had fangs.

And he used them.

"They won't wake up."

"Neither of them?"

The sliding door I was leaning on shifted and started opening. The rest of the lights turned on at the same time. I struggled to right myself, but my hand slipped off the seat. I cried out when my neck caught on the seat belt and my weight went a little too far to the left. Someone caught me, their hands soft but firm on my shoulders and Adrian's weight was lifted off my side. Something clicked and the seat belt I didn't remember putting on slid across my chest. The man lifted me.

"It's okay," he said. I realized Neil was carrying me again.

I looked around. My eyes kept drifting toward the car. Two men were standing beside it. One was pulling Adrian out. I wanted to ask what was happening, but I didn't know how. My lips wouldn't form the words.

"It's okay," Neil repeated.

He carried me into a building. The first thing I saw, as anyone seems to when they are being carried, is the ceiling. It wasn't white tile and florescent lights like the hospital. It wasn't dark like... that place I'd come from. It was bright and yellow. The light and colors themselves seemed warm. There was a chandelier above me and the ceiling was white. I could see the tops of the curtains on a window to my left. They were red. When I looked forward, sending my world reeling, I saw the carpets were gold and red too.

I wanted to ask where we were, but that was when feet, wearing no more then simple black flats, approached.

"Oh!" Lissa exclaimed, "Bring her in here."

I let my eyes wander up, past her jeans and t-shirt to her perfect porcelain face and perfect pale hair.

We were moving again. And I was placed on something firm but soft. Fingering it, I found the end of a cushion and another surface to my left. I was on a couch in the middle of court.

I was surrounded by them.

Lissa's POV:

Even for the royal court, it was chaos.

Abe had called me two hours before. Usually, he opened with sarcasm, but this time, he didn't bother with it. That's how I'd known something bad had happened.

"Lissa."

"What's wrong?"

"The alchemists seem to have found us. They tried to kidnap Sydney again, but Neil took care of that. The whole lot of them are in shambles, though." The words would have worried me anyway, but he seemed anxious. Abe was never like that.

"Are they okay?"

"I don't think so. Normally, I would turn them right around, but considering Sydney's condition, I'm sure they left without consent."

Worry and stress had coursed through me in waves: worry about the alchemists finding out that the queen of the moroi was helping to 'kidnap' one of their own from re-education, worry that Sydney had been hurt, worry about Christian, worry about rose.

"Can they make the ride here?"

"I'm not sure."

"Is there anywhere else they could get for help faster?"

There was only static while he thought. Static and my own breathing. For some reason, you rarely hear other people's breaths over the phone unless you know them closely in person. Any other time, it was only room noise. It reminded me that I was on the phone with my best friend's father and, at the same time, a moroi who had more connections than me. And I was the moroi queen.

"No."

I had told him to get them here, and had told Dimitri. This could ruin the shaky plan we'd created. It could get us all in trouble.

He'd calmed me and said that as long as we had Sonya and I there for anything he and Mikhail couldn't treat, everything would be fine. I'd pointed out the alchemists now knew Rose and Christian were involved. And where Rose and Christian were, I was going to be nearby.

"But you aren't," he said.

"What if one of them had died?"

He didn't have an answer to that.

My wait was impatient.

Finally, Neil came through the door and I stood. Dimitri was already pulling on his jacket and heading out the door, but I ran to Neil instead.

Sydney was in his arms, bloody. Her eyes wandered. They lingered on me, but it was a lazy and unfocused gaze, like she couldn't see me.

"Oh!" I couldn't help but let the exclamation out, "Bring her in here." I ran back to the couch I'd been laying on. I didn't want to take the time and bring her upstairs. She looked bad enough that I was surprised she didn't cry out when she was shifted and set down.

Neil made sure to rest her head sideways, her left ear pressed against the arm. The back of her head faced us. There was so much blood in her hair. Even having gone through what I had in my life, I had forgotten that much blood could come from a person.

I'd only ever seen that much come from a person once. And it was on the night my bond with Rose had formed.

Eddie's POV:

I woke up in a lavish bedroom. More lavish than anything I could even imagine being in a hotel. More lavish than anything I should be living in and waking up in. That's how I knew I was at court. In a room designed for a moroi, and a royal one at that.

It felt good to be engulfed in thick blankets and shimmering silk sheets, but it also felt wrong. Wrong enough to drive me to kick the blankets to the bottom of the bed, then onto the floor, and, ignoring the lightheaded feeling that hit me hard as I slid off the bed, to back against the wall.

This wasn't my room. It wasn't supposed to be. It was for a moroi. I was a dhampir. I was a guardian. I was supposed to be doing my job.

I remembered the pain exploding in my lower jaw and I fingered the spot. There was a square bandage over where I knew I'd been hit.

Did the others make it out? I couldn't remember anything after the pain and the smell of my own blood. If they hadn't made it, I wasn't sure what I'd do. I was certain that I wouldn't be a guardian anymore. It would be my third mistake. Even if I wasn't kicked out of the job, I wouldn't be able to let myself continue.

Three strikes and you're out.

The wall behind me rattled and I turned to find it was a door. Dimitri Belikov came through.

"You're awake."

I nodded slowly. It made me dizzy.

"You shouldn't be moving around."

"I couldn't lay in the bed."

He nodded, like he understood, and said, "I'm sorry. But unless you want the couch... and it's occupied."

"Is everyone okay?"

"We had to heal Rose. She lost more blood than we could replenish. You lost a lot, but it wasn't going to kill you, and we couldn't be draining Lissa's strength. Adrian is exhausted, but is awake enough to refuse to let us heal Sydney. She's getting medical attention. Christian sprained his wrist. Jill and Neil are unharmed."

I let myself breathe again. My legs were already shaking from standing. I stumbled to the wall about six feet from the doorway where Dimitri still stood. I slid down it and sat with my legs straight out in front of me.

"Thank god."

"It's a miracle, honestly, that you all made it back. Sydney especially. She has terrible head trauma. It's still... uncertain how well she'll do when this is over."

"She's alive though?"

"Yes."

"And she'll recover?"

He stood in silence a moment before saying, "Not too much activity. I'll tell Sonya you're awake."

Without answering my question, he left the room.

I let my head rest against the wall and put two fingers against the side of my neck, below the side of my jaw that isn't bandaged. My pulse beat normally. I was alive too. I survived.

Sydney might not. After all this.

And even if she did, I put them in danger. I put the people I was supposed to be protecting in danger again. Why did they even trust me any more?

The next person to come in was Sonya, holding a bottle of sprite and a Ziploc bag of Oreos. Jill came in behind her, pale and worried. When she saw me, awake and sitting on the floor, she smiled and ran to me. "Eddie! Thank god," She pulled me forward enough to hug me and I hug her back. "I was so worried."

She pulled back enough to look me in the eyes.

"I was more worried."

"Impossible."

"Sorry," Sonya said, causing Jill to jump and move aside, "But, Eddie needs to eat." She handed me the Oreos and sprite.

"Why Oreos and sprite?" I asked.

"Is that a problem?"

"No. Just wondering."

"They're sugary," she said with a shrug, "And we had them on hand. Why aren't you on the bed?"

I didn't want to lie to Jill, and I was pretty sure Sonya would be able to tell if I was lying anyway, so I told the truth. "It feels weird. This room was designed for a moroi." I shook my head. "This is all backwards. I shouldn't be in this room. You shouldn't be helping me. It doesn't work like this."

"Well, it does today," Sonya said.

"And if the rules always applied, we'd have a problem," Jill said, her smile turning sly.

I didn't move from the floor, but I reached over and took Jill's hand.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Here you guys go! Hope you like it :)**

**disclaimer: We do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters.**

Sydney's POV:

I have no words to describe the agony I woke up in.

I had fallen asleep at some point, after having tried not too for so long. The dark took me in like a child to her mother's chest. And held me possessively.

The room was dark and damp. I was cold. I was wet. I was hungry, and I was shivering. I was waiting for the next torture to come.

And it did. The pain erupted on the back of my head. The lights came on and I was on the couch again, not the floor. I was warm. There was a loud noise. It was piercing and hurt my head.

With a start that made my voice catch, I realized it was my own screaming.

"Shh..." said a soothing voice. "Don't move."

I couldn't if I'd wanted to.

Sonya's POV:

The guardians knew basic first aid. I knew a little first aid, though heeling was usually what I did. But with my ability to see auras, I got stuck doing most of the work.

I inspected Sydney as carefully as I could. I couldn't tell if she was awake when Mikhail had dragged me here saying it was important and he couldn't say what was going on until we were in the palace.

He didn't have to tell me. I saw it.

It was utter chaos. Lissa was kneeling beside a chair holding a slumped Adrian Ivashkov. He looked like he'd fallen asleep there. Dimitri was kneeling in front of the couch where Sydney was laying, or I thought it was Sydney. Jill was knocking on a door nearby, yelling to whoever was inside to let her in. And I was sure Christian was on this adventure with the rest of them, but I didn't see him anywhere.

All of this was the first wave of information. In the second, I found out how dire the situation was.

Sydney's aura was usually screaming gold and whispering sparkling violet. I was expecting it to be the same as usual, maybe a different emotion within it, but it looked dim. I'd never seen an aura looking this dark.

Sydney's looked like a candle barely hanging on. And I could only think of one explanation. She was dying.

I rushed to her and knelt beside Dimitri. "How did this happen?"

He looked surprised at my sudden urgency, but quickly recovered. "Head wounds. Some other scratches and bruises, but the head wounds are the worst. She probably has a concussion."

"She's dying."

He shook his head. "She's badly injured, but I don't think-"

"Dimitri, she's dying." I picked up Sydney's hand and held it. It was cold.

"How can you tell?"

"Her aura. It's barely there."

He stood and leaned over her. He shook her shoulder. "Sydney," he said, "Sydney, wake up."

I knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"We need to get her real help. Now."

Dimitri leaned a little closer to Sydney's face. He pressed two fingers to the base of her chin. "Her pulse is erratic."

"She's probably terrified," Lissa said, standing. "Adrian wants to talk to you, Sonya."

"Wants or needs?"

She gave me a warning look, so I walked over to him and knelt where she previously was. The carpet was warm where she had been. Adrian was pale, but still looked mostly alert and was watching me closely. "Don't heal her."

"I might have to."

"You can't. She'll never trust us."

"Would you rather have her life or her trust lost?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. His eyes drifted closed. I almost thought he fell asleep until he said, "Not unless you really have to."

"I promise."

Lissa was standing behind the coffee table. "I have to go check on Rose." she said.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"We had to heal her. She was almost dead."

That explained Lissa's pallor and tired eyes. Usually, she could fool most with an act, not including spirit users who see auras, but she must have been exhausted.

"How close to death?"

She hesitated. "Really close."

Lissa walked down the hallway and Jill came over and sat on the coffee table. "Neil won't let me in."

I turned back to Sydney and gently pushed a few strands of hair off her face. Her cuts weren't terribly deep, as far as I could tell, but there were a lot of them, and some still bled. They'd probably been reopened at some point. But her hair had strands of grass and bits of gravel in it. I looked to Dimitri.

"Shouldn't we clean her wounds? I don't think we could deal with an infection."

"We should heal her," Jill said. "Can't you heal her?"

"Adrian's right," I told her. "We shouldn't heal her unless we have to."

"Unless she's dying," she said.

"Yes."

"Isn't she already?"

I didn't want to say yes. "She's getting there."

Jill looked scared. I was suddenly reminded that she was only fifteen. Fifteen and, already, went through so much. She didn't need more of this in her life. "Are you sure you shouldn't just heal her."

I looked back at Sydney. Her aura was flickering even dimmer and darker than the last time I'd seen it. "We should at least try without."

"How do you know when to stop trying?"

I hesitated. Maybe I should just heal her. I'd never seen this before. What if she was closer to dying than I thought? I couldn't let that happen.

"Dimitri, should we clean her cuts?"

He stood. "I'll get what we need."

He had to go and find what we needed, so in the mean time, I caught up on everyone else. Jill said she wasn't being let into Eddie's room. I knocked on the door.

"Jill, I told you this already. Eddie's not up for visitors."

"It's me."

"Oh." The door unlocked. I glanced behind me at Jill, who looked immensely jealous, before going in.

Eddie was under the blankets on the bed. He looked like he was sleeping. There was a bandage on his chin. His aura wasn't flickering like Sydney's. It just looked very... solid. Like it wasn't going to move at all.

"His only injury is on his chin, but he lost a lot of blood. I don't think it cut through a vein or anything. If it had, he'd probably have bled out before he got here. I think that's why he's unconscious though. I don't know how much he's lost." Neil said this all in one breath. He couldn't seem to wait to get it all out.

"He's not dying," I said, "So I guess we should just wait until he wakes up."

"When humans donate blood, they're given sugary things after. Juice. Cookies. I saw a presentation about it at Amberwood."

"Yes. Juice and cookies. I can find that."

He nodded. "Should I stay with him?"

"Where's Christian?"

"That's why I was asking. Dimitri is busy with Sydney. I need to wrap Christian's wrist. Just a sprain, but it could easily get worse if he uses it."

"And he's not one for following directions," I finished. "Go ahead. There's nothing you can do here until he wakes up."

Neil nodded and walked out. I went over to Eddie. His jaw was slack and his eyes were closed. There was a dark splotch on the bandage. It was either still bleeding, or there was still wet blood on the wound when the bandage was taped down.

"Sonya," Dimitri said from the doorway. "I have what we need."

I nodded and came out. Sydney's aura still flickered in and out. I hoped my judgment wasn't wrong.

"How's Eddie?" Jill asked.

"Fine. He lost some blood, but he's going to be okay."

She looked relieved. I knelt in front of Sydney again and took her hand. "I don't know how to do the medical things very well. Dimitri, you're going to have to."

He nodded and opened a wet wipe. I wondered if you were supposed to use chemicals on a wound or if it was supposed to be straight water, but I figured Dimitri knew better than I did, and stayed silent.

He pressed the wipe to the edge of her forehead and worked his way back, turning three wet wipes dark scarlet before reaching the first open cut.

As soon as the wipe touched it, she startled awake, shreaking. Her hand clenched around mine. "Shh..." I said, "Shh.. Don't move. It's okay. Sydney, it's okay. It's okay." I was trying to calm her down. Dimitri startled when she started screaming and pulled back. I motioned for him to keep going. Her aura had actually gotten a little brighter.

He tried again, and she was shreaking. Crying.

It was horrifying to watch.

By the time Dimitri was finished, I was shaking more than Sydney and even he'd paled. Sydney cried silently with wide, frightened eyes directed at the wall.

"I'm going to check on Eddie," Dimitri said between short breaths.

"Alright."

He went into Eddie's room and I sat on the coffee table. "I'm sorry," I told Sydney. "If we didn't clean your wounds, you could have died."

"She wasn't the only one listening," Adrian said from the chair. I glanced at him. His face was more pale than usual, and twisted like someone had stabbed him.

"Adrian, I'm trying to help her so I don't need to heal her, but it's hard to do that, and not accidentally hurt her."

Dimitri came out of Eddie's room. "Sonya, I'm going to see what else I can do for Sydney. Can you get Eddie something to eat?"

"He's awake?"

Dimitri nodded.

"Can I go in?" Jill asked.

He nodded again. I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed the first sugary things I saw: a sprite and oreos. I put a few of the oreos in a Ziploc bag, and Jill and I went into Eddie's room.

As suspected, Jill and Eddie were both relieved to see the other okay. I worked my way through that exchange quickly and tried to close with, "I've got to get back to Sydney."

Jill looked nervously between us and said to Eddie, "I'll be right back."

She followed me out. I was going to ask why she'd followed me, but I was preoccupied with a new development. Sydney's aura was dimmer again. I stood over her and saw her eyes were closed. "Sydney," I said, "Sydney, wake up."

She didn't. I shook her shoulder. "Sydney. Sydney." I was probably shaking it too hard. "God, no."

"We should heal her," Jill said. I'd already forgotten she was here. Now, she was standing beside me, pale faced and resolute. "We can't wait any longer."

"No," Adrian said.

Jill held Sydney's hand, but I took it from hers and found her pulse. I didn't know the time. I couldn't count specifically, but even I could tell this was too slow, and her aura was even dimmer than it was before.

"Adrian, I think I have to. She's going to die."

"Is it something with her aura?" Dimitri asked.

"It's getting dimmer! Adrian, I'm going to heal her. I'm sorry."

"You promised you wouldn't."

I cradled Sydney's hand in mine and let spirit flow into her.


	7. Chapter 7

**disclaimer: We do not own the bloodlines world or characters. That would be the doing of Richelle Mead.**

Christian's POV:

You know, most people would be bummed out to find out their wrist was messed up. I could care less as long as it healed. I didn't even care that it hurt. Mikhail said to just let him bandage it, so he could help out in the other room. I obliged.

He told me to take some Motrin for the pain and sleep it off, which was all I needed to hear.

I never could sleep much in cars. I never understood how people could. The long hours had worn me out. And being able to lay in my, our, bed again was great. Now I just had to wait for Lissa.

And sure enough, she came. Without a word, she kicked her flats aside and crawled under the covers and into my chest.

"Is your wrist Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Did you let Neil wrap it?"

"No."

She looked up at me wearily. "Christian..."

"Mikhail beat him to the job."

She chuckled softly to herself. "Oh Christian. You know what I meant."

"Yep. Just like messing with you. Hey, I got some pretty sweet bandages out of the deal." I held up my bandaged hand and lower arm. The bandages were simple white. "I'm thinking of buying some sticker sheets."

She laughed again.

"I can heal it, you know."

"No. You're already exhausted"

"I meant tomorrow."

"It doesn't even hurt."

We sat in silence for a moment, listening to each other's breathing. The light above us hummed.

"How's Rose?" I asked.

"Sleepy. Fine, though."

"I heard she was really close to dying."

"Yeah."

"How close?"

She closed her eyes. A strand of hair was slowly inching it's way down her cheek. I reached out and brushed it aside before she could even notice it. "Close enough."

"Lissa..."

"Sydney's pretty bad. I should probably get back out there. I just wanted to come see you, and-"

"Just lay down for a second? Rest your eyes? I can go check on Sydney if you want."

"Oh?"

"Well, of course. We were in the same car for hours on end. I've learned so much about her in our _long_ conversations."

"Like?"

"Like, she hates when I whistle. She didn't say it, but I could tell when she gave me death glares over her shoulder."

She laughed. "Sydney gave you a death glare?"

"Yeah, and if I didn't know better, I'd think she meant it too."

Lissa was smiling down at our hands. They had automatically interlocked at some point.

"How are we going to keep her hidden? There's already problems."

"It only looks hard cause we haven't really started yet."

"When did you get so knowledgeable?"

I wished she'd look into my eyes. "When we ate Chinese food earlier tonight. My fortune cookie said 'The mountain is only daunting until you start climbing it'."

"It's true."

We stayed there a little longer. Then I shifted and pulled myself out of the covers. "I'll go check on Sydney. I'll be right back."

She nodded and curled up into a ball. "I'll wait for you."

I let my fingertips linger on her arm for a moment. "Hey. Sleep. I'll be back in a second. You've been using way too much spirit to wait up for anything."

She nodded into the pillow.

Adrian's POV:

It wasn't that I wanted her to die. God, that was the last thing I wanted. But I was also ready to tip toe around healing her until the very last moment. Without using spirit, I wasn't able to guess how close to that moment she was. Sonya was able to tell, but anxiety, probably made worse by exhaustion and use of spirit, had made my judgment foggy. The protests sounded stupid as soon as I uttered them.

I hoped with everything I had that she would trust me someday. That day had probably just been delayed by a lot, though.

She yanked her hand away as soon as she could manage to do it. I could see her and Sonya struggling a minute before Sonya let go.

"I can make it even easier if you'll let me," she said.

I forced my eyes to focus on them and leaned forward so my elbows rested on my knees.

Sydney had turned to face Sonya by then, and she had her knees pulled to her chest, sitting in the crook of the couch.

She was okay. I just had to keep telling myself that, and maybe I would start to believe it.

Sonya glanced at me. "I didn't get to finish heeling her. She pulled away."

"She's alive though." I considered looking at her aura, but figured I would be more useful conscious. "And she'll be fine."

Sonya nodded. "Yeah. She might take a day or so to recover, but nothing like what it would have been."

Mikhail came in with Neil. Dimitri went over to them and they spoke in whispered voices. I couldn't hear what they were saying. Mikhail went over to Sonya, who had sat back on the coffee table, sat beside her, and draped his arm over her shoulder.

"Are you ready to go back to our room. It's late enough to sleep."

She let her head rest on his shoulder. "I have to stay."

"We'll keep an eye on Sydney," Neil said.

She glanced up at him and looked back at her. "I guess so... I'll be back in the morning."

I laughed. "After that spirit? A promise of morning is about as empty as Christian promising to lose the attitude."

She frowned. "I will."

"You will sleep," Dimitri said, cutting me off before I could say anything. "You must rest."

"I heard my name?" Christian sauntered in. "Before the way too grammatically correct Dimitri opinion."

"Yeah. I was saying you'd never lose your attitude. Looks like you proved it." My sarcasm was ruined by a yawn. I was exhausted. I knew if I stood, I wouldn't get far, if anywhere.

"I came to check on Sydney. Lissa's resting."

"Is she okay?" Sonya asked. She was standing now and almost to the door.

"Yeah. Just tired. Used a crap-load of spirit."

"Maybe I should just say bye-" Sonya started. Mikhail tugged on her sleeve.

"Come on. Bedtime."

She nodded. "Alright. We're leaving then. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Okay," Neil said. "Bye."

"Bye."

Mikhail led her out with his hand on the small of her back.

The group dispersed slowly. Christian left first, after catching up on everything and taking a snack from the fridge in the other room. Dimitri went to be with Rose. Neil alerted us that he'd be back in ten minutes with a cot for himself. He asked me if I wanted one. I told him no. The chair was fine.

He left. Sydney kept fingering the back of her head. Her eyes stayed open much larger than they naturally are.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She flinched at my voice and turned her head to look at me. Her hand dropped back to her opposite wrist and they hugged her knees close.

"They had to. They didn't want you to die. We didn't want you to die. And you were so close."

She nodded, but kept staring at me like I was holding a sword.

"You don't have to be scared." My body decided that it wanted to yawn then. "I'm still weak from spirit. I don't think I could even walk over there."

She looked down so her chin rested on her knees.

I lay back in my chair with another yawn. I never noticed how high the ceiling was until now. It looked so far up. I wondered how they change the bulbs on the chandelier.

Neil came back a few minutes later. He couldn't find a cot, but he had taken a thick blanket and some pillows from one of the empty rooms. He pulled the coffee table away from the couch and folded the blanket so it would be thicker.

Before Neil turned off the light, he asked, "Do you want to head to a room?"

"No."

"Do you want the bed?"

I glanced at it. "I think the armchair is more comfortable."

He nodded. "Okay. Sydney, are you- oh."

I glanced over when he did. She'd fallen asleep sitting up. He laughed a little to himself, walked over, and repositioned her.

"Okay. I'm going to turn off the light, then." He flicked the switch, and the room was pitch dark. All the curtains had been closed when the sun came up.

Sydney's POV:

I didn't know when I fell asleep. Before Neil got back with his cot. After Adrian tried to reassure me. What he was saying helped a little. I certainly didn't feel comfortable enough to fall asleep, but I was exhausted. I wondered what time it was at some point, but I didn't feel like asking.

My head had stopped throbbing, and I could move to touch it. My eyelids felt heavy, and Adrian shared his yawns with me. I made sure mine were quiet.

They had healed me. It made me feel dirty. There was vampire magic in my blood. Why had it even worked with my human magic? Had it worn down over time?

When my eyes did close, I dreamed.

That wouldn't exactly be an accurate verb. Dreaming implies a good imagining. This wasn't a dream. This was a nightmare. This was a memory.

I was in the cold room again. It was pitch dark and wet. There was a loud, mechanical voice.

"_Confess to your sins."_

I shivered. My teeth chattered. I was freezing.

"_Confess to your sins."_

I was banging on the walls. Every day they seemed more solid. I'd never get out.

Tears. Shrieks. The mechanical voice.

"_You can be healed, Sydney. Confess to your sins. You must confess."_

I collapsed against the floor. Tears were streaming down my face. The floor felt different now. Fuzzy. The coldness had left. But it was still dark. The sound of the room was different. A different kind of silence. Not as empty. But I couldn't be tricked. I was still there. I had to be. It was still dark. The same pitch blackness.

I pulled my knees to my chest and cried. My shoulder hurt. I'd fallen on it.

Something touched my arm and I screamed. "No! Please! I have nothing to confess!"

"Shh..." said a soft voice. I shrank further away. Adrian. Adrian was touching me. "Hey, it's okay."

Why was he here?

"Sydney, can you hear me?"

He wasn't here.

He wasn't there.

I wasn't there.

I cried harder. Memories weren't as vivid across my eyelids now. But they were still there. I had made a fool out of myself. Where was the couch? Why was I not on the couch? I was on the carpet.

"Sydney, are you awake?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer. I heard shifting fabric and he grunted. Then he was lifting me, and he gently set me on the couch. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

I fell. I must have fallen off the couch while I was dreaming.

It was only a dream.


End file.
